The discussion throughout this specification comes about due to the realisation of the inventors and/or the identification of certain prior art problems by the inventors.
Any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention. It should not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms a part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia or elsewhere on or before the priority date of the disclosure and claims herein.
Existing support straps and similar devices and systems designed to protect injuries such as tendonitis and epicondylitis are considered not particularly effective. The most common method in current use is a tensioned strap which is placed around healthy tissue, for example, in the forearm and which has the effect of restricting muscle contraction. This is considered uncomfortable and only gives minor restriction to tensioning of the injured tissue. A device of this nature titled ‘Therapeutic Support Device’ is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,842.
It is considered by some that the above mentioned tensioned strap device also has some load carrying benefit, whereby the healthy portion of muscle anchors or pulls from the strap (which acts as a floating anchor) instead of the true origin of the muscle, and some part of the tension force involved (normally carried by the injured portion of muscle or tendon) is transferred to and carried by the healthy tissue around the injured tissue on the other side of the strap. Unfortunately, in practice, it has been realised that the load carrying support provided with this type of device is generally not sufficient to be useful.
A number of devices have been designed to apply pressure directly onto injured tissue and hold joints together. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,388, such a device titled ‘Therapeutic elbow support method’ has been disclosed using elastic material around a joint in a FIG. 8 pattern. In AU733693 a device titled ‘Support brace for knee or elbow’ has been proposed, and still in U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,046 another device titled ‘Flexible knee support’ has been disclosed, both devices using elastic sleeves and elastic support straps. A similar design titled ‘Method for providing stability to the elbow joint’ and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,079 uses a FIG. 8 elastic strap over an elastic sleeve to stabilize an elbow joint. These designs and many similar to them are useful in holding the joints together and therefore providing support to damaged ligaments, however these types of devices are not considered to have an effective anchor system which can be connected to the elastic material, and therefore do not provide a satisfactory load carrying support for the tendons and muscles.
A more effective approach of actually carrying the load of injured muscles and tendons with rigid adhesive taping using two anchors and a tie has gained some usage, particularly in the sporting fraternity. Unfortunately, however, this method of taping does not work properly in providing consistent support for different limb or body positions. In addition this method of taping tends to be messy, restrict limb or body movement, irritate the skin, and can be tedious and expensive, as it usually needs to be applied by a skilled therapist or sports trainer. Furthermore, although elastic adhesive taping currently on the market is considered to be more comfortable, it only provides very gentle support, and is also messy, tedious and expensive.
Alternate designs with two prefabricated anchor/mooring devices pulled together with several elastic ties across a joint have been disclosed in BE1010652 in an invention titled ‘Device for unburdening muscles and tendons that work in conjunction with a joint’. A similar invention titled ‘Shoulder stabilizer method’, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,725, proposes a garment covering the arm and chest (with an inside surface constructed of a rubberized material for gripping the skin) and one or more tensioned elastic straps wrapped around the body and connecting the arm and chest. Another similar invention titled ‘Shoulder stabilizer’ is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,493. These inventions are considered to be intended to carry some of the load of injured tendons without the use of adhesive tape, but unfortunately the designs have an elaborate system of anchors, mooring devices and ties, and as such are considered to be very cumbersome and impractical, and have thus not gained wide acceptance and remain largely unknown.
An object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple but effective method of unloading injured tendons and other soft tissue that is both comfortable and easy to use.
A further object of the present invention is to alleviate at least one disadvantage associated with the prior art.